Weird & Wonderful
PLACES TO STAY
Weird & Wonderful
PLACES TO STAY
SCANDI-STAY
Vipp Cold Hawaii
Thy, Denmark
It might have Hawaii in its title, but Hawaii this most definitely ain't.
Weird & Wonderful
On Denmark's wild northwest coast, the tiny fishing village of Klitmøller has earned the nickname ‘Cold Hawaii’ thanks to some of Europe's best surf, and the decidedly chilly North Sea that delivers it.
Right in the thick of it is Vipp Cold Hawaii, an early-1900s fisherman's cottage transformed by local architecture studio Hahn Lavsen into a seriously slick 185-square-metre hideout. It sits alone on 9,900 square metres inside Thy National Park, with no neighbours in sight and the North Sea waiting nearby.
There are three double bedrooms, two bathrooms and plenty of that Scandidesign you wish you had in your own home. The enormous Vipp kitchen anchors the living space, while local art, oak, wool and sandy tones pull the landscape indoors.
But if you stayed inside the whole time, we fear you’d be missing out. Klitmøller's waves draw surfers from around the world, while Thy serves up mountain biking, horse riding and huge slabs of wind-battered wilderness.
Pack a wetsuit. A thick one. And a parka. And the fluffiest socks you can find. Actually, it might be time for a trip to Uniqlo.
From AU$896 per night, seven night minimum
TRULLO TERRIFIC
EVO Dimore
Puglia, Italy
Come to Puglia and sleep inside one of its pointy little hats.
Weird & Wonderful
There are plenty of places to stay in Puglia. Considerably fewer come with a cluster of centuries-old conical stone roofs poking out above your bedroom.
Trullo EVO sits among more than a hectare of ancient olive and fruit trees in the countryside outside Ostuni, giving you the chance to actually live inside one of Puglia's most recognisable pieces of architecture rather than elbowing strangers out of the way to photograph one. Inside are four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a full kitchen; outside, a private pool, huge patio and vegetable garden await.
And the backstory is just as good. The owners first visited Valle d'Itria in 2020, fell catastrophically in love with it and, within two weeks, had invested their savings in a trullo. They signed the paperwork the day before heading home while still wearing their swimmers and with sand on their feet. Bless.
Now guests get to reap the rewards of that excellent life decision, preferably after a pasta-making session or with a private chef taking over dinner duties.
We guess sometimes impulse purchases actually work out.
From AU$2,330 per night, three night minimum
OVERWATER ESCAPE
Lagen
El Nido, Philippines
When you stay here, your neighbours are limestone cliffs, monitor lizards and the ocean.
Weird & Wonderful
But then again, Lagen has always had location on its side. It occupies its own island in El Nido's Bacuit Bay, squeezed between jungle, soaring limestone and the ‘Gatorade’ water that was all over your Pinterest feed 10 years ago.
And after a major 12-month transformation, the resort reopened in 2026 with an interesting philosophy: make less of an impact by having less of a resort. Its accommodation count dropped from 51 to 42, beachfront cottages were removed to reclaim a stretch of white sand and the whole place was redesigned around Filipino craft, culture and the landscape that was already there.
If you want our opinion, opt for one of the Water Villas because when lying around gets boring, there are lagoons to kayak, reefs to snorkel, jungle trails to hike and islands scattered across the bay just begging you to rent a boat.
It's polished, sure. But at the end of the day, you’re still on a tiny Palawan island.
From AU$1,485
JUNGLE LODGE
La Loma Jungle Lodge
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Fancy a morning coffee that comes with monkeys and homegrown chocolate?
Weird & Wonderful
Firstly, that was a rhetorical question, but you will need a boat to get here. Then you'll need to climb a jungle-covered hill. Don't worry about your suitcase, though; there's a winch for that.
Welcome to La Loma, a 55-acre rainforest reserve, eco-lodge, permaculture farm and working chocolate farm hidden away on Isla Bastimentos in Panama's Bocas del Toro archipelago. And yep, it’s only accessible by boat, which is generally a promising start to any get lost-approved stay (duh).
Its handcrafted open-air bungalows sit among the canopy rather than shutting it outside. Expect mosquito-netted beds, hammocks and 180-degree jungle views, with the soundtrack supplied by whatever is screeching, chirping or crashing through the trees that morning (probs that monkey we mentioned in the subtext).
Then there's the chocolate. Thousands of cacao trees grow beneath the jungle canopy and guests can follow the whole glorious journey from brightly coloured pod to fermented, dried and roasted bean. White-faced capuchins and Panamanian night monkeys are apparently fans of the crop too, so there might be some sharing involved. We bet going home to regular choccy will be a bit boring after a stay here.
From AU$527
DESERT DREAM
Desert Whisper
Namib Desert, Namibia
You can bet your neighbours are gonna be very quite here.
Weird & Wonderful
Probs because you don’t have any. Because if your idea of a good hotel involves not seeing another human, Desert Whisper has taken the brief and run approximately 100 kilometres into the Namib with it.
Sitting completely alone among the rust-red rocks and endless plains of the Gondwana Namib Park, this futuristic-looking pod screams private desert headquarters. And there’s only one of them. Meaning the plunge pool, terrace, enormous views and eerie amount of silence are all yours.
The pod itself looks a bit like something NASA’s dropped off, with curved rust-coloured walls helping it disappear into the landscape. Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows mean the Namib follows you everywhere, from the bed to the bath to the kitchen, where breakfast with several thousand square kilometres of nothing beats the hotel buffet queue any day.
And come sunset, pour something cold, head outside and watch the whole place turn orange, pink and eventually pitch-black.
From AU$1300 per night
OFF-GRID ISLAND
Voaara
Sainte Marie Island, Madagascar
There are worse places to disappear.
Weird & Wonderful
So, like, if going off-grid is your end goal, an island off an island off the coast of Madagascar feels like a fairly safe bet.
Voaara sits on 1.5 kilometres of wild beach on Sainte-Marie Island, with just seven bungalows and a three-bedroom villa between the jungle and the Indian Ocean. The whole thing has been designed to feel less resort, more extremely well-dressed castaway: thatched roofs, reclaimed timber, local craftsmanship and outdoor bathrooms where showering under the stars is a nightly thing.
Then there are the sinks. Some are carved from 220-million-year-old petrified wood, which makes that Bunnings bathroom reno suddenly feel a tad underdone.
Outside, Madagascar gets properly Madagascar-y. Snorkel, dive, surf, fish, explore the island by bike or, between June and September, head offshore to spot humpback whales passing Sainte-Marie on their annual migration.
Or don't. There’s a hammock, a ridiculously empty beach and nobody telling you what to do. So, y’know, have at it.
From AU$2,336
get in the know The Madagascan tear-drinking moth (Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica) uses its specialised proboscis to sip tears directly from birds' eyes. Kinda really impressive, kinda really yuck.
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